1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dental floss, in particular to dental floss having bristles or spines affixed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the floss.
2. Description of Prior Art
Dental floss is a well known toilet article used to promote dental hygiene by aiding in the removal of particles lodged in the interproximal areas of the teeth. In its most standard use a segment of dental floss is passed between two adjacent teeth and manipulated therein to dislodge food and other unwanted particles caught between the teeth. Conventional floss is usually manipulated under tension against the tooth surface being cleaned in such a way that its motion is lateral to the longitudinal axis of the floss in an occlusogingival direction along the surface of the tooth. Such movement brings it into direct contact with the outstanding convex surfaces of the tooth from the crown to about the neck level of the tooth. That is to say, from the occlusive region, in the gingival direction to a line between the point at which the longitudinal contour of the tooth becomes perpendicular to the axis of the tension on the floss, and the highest most occlusiveward points of gum adhesion on the lateral faces of the tooth. This movement, if successful, mechanically dislodges particles of food, plaque, and other debris lodged on these surfaces, but does not reach into pockets of gum disattachment in the interproximal regions in the gingival direction from the above described line nor does it contact concave surfaces in the radial contour of the tooth.
A number of serious problems result from the use of conventional floss and flossing methods notwithstanding the benefits obtained from regular use. One serious disadvantage of conventional dental floss is the damage to the gum caused by forceful contact of the dental floss against the gum, which is both painful and often leads to bleeding from the gum. Gingival injury can result from this forceful manipulation where the stretched smooth floss under pressure cuts directly into the gum. If the gingival tissue is in a diseased or unhealthy state, it often swells, bleeds easily, and is hypersensitive to conventional dental floss and flossing action. Due to the significant prevalence of gum disease, and to the injurious nature of conventional dental floss, most users of dental floss would prefer a floss which is easy and convenient to use without the concommitant drawbacks of conventional floss.
Another significant disadvantage of prior art flosses is that no amount of tension or manipulation can bring such floss into contact with either the concave surfaces of the tooth's topography, or, with tooth surfaces in pockets of gum disattachment below, i.e. toward the root from the neck of the tooth, short of damaging the gum attachment to the lateral surfaces of the tooth. Furthermore, due to limitations in the surface topography of prior flosses there is little or no salutary massage to the gum surfaces surrounding the tooth, and provides only an inefficient means of transporting the dislodged particles from surfaces which it does contact.
Heretofore, a wide variety of dental flosses and floss-like articles have been proposed and implemented.
Conventional dental flosses are generally composed of relatively small diameter filaments woven together into a single elongate strand. A number of attempts have been made to improve upon conventional floss. One attempted solution is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,258 issued to Eaton, Il. This dental floss consisted of a relatively large diameter dental floss having a multitude of fibers overlain upon each other and, in some cases, extending beyond the main body of the dental floss. Although such a configuration provided an alternative to conventional floss, such floss had significant problems and limitations associated therewith. A primary problem with this approach is that in a way similar to conventional floss, this overlain floss could not clean either concave surfaces of the tooth's topography or tooth surfaces in pockets of gum disattachment. Furthermore, this approach provided little improvement over conventional floss in the transport and removal of material which is successfully dislodged from the interproximal regions.
Another approach is illustrated in U.S. Pat. 4,450,849 issued to Cerceo et. al. in which a dental tape having rows of protuberances aligned obliquely to the parallel edges of the tape is disclosed. Such tape, although superior to conventional floss in plaque removal capabilities is significantly limited in its cleaning and removal capability of interproximal regions. As in the case of conventional floss and overlain floss, such dental tape could not adequately clean either concave surfaces on the tooth or surfaces of the tooth or gum below the level of the neck of the tooth.
A still different approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,226 issued to Wolak wherein an endless article for cleaning teeth is disclosed. Such endless article was stretchable and included an abrasive surface of either ribs or dimples. This attempted solution is inadequate due to the difficulty in providing such article with a sufficient cleaning and removal texture.